


Second Contact

by NaturalFrost



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Near Future, Pearl Solidarity (Steven Universe), Renegade Pearl, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-10-03 08:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10239794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaturalFrost/pseuds/NaturalFrost
Summary: Blue Diamond's temple has come under attack. She has been evacuated. Her courtiers have fled. Her pearl waits for death.Newest Update: Third Time Lucky - Blue Diamond's pearl encounters the rest of the Crystal Gems.





	1. Chapter One: Second Contact

In the distance she could hear screams and cries of the fighters.

 

Her diamond had long fled when the early warnings had come of an attack on Blue Diamond’s temple, and in the stampede of courtiers after her, she had stumbled and fallen. A large foot had cracked her gem, and several smaller ones seemed to have left crushing wounds in her form. She had crawled into an alcove next to the stairs, but now the damage to her gem and her form made it impossible to go further.

 

She struggled up onto her knees, arms shaking with the pain from her bruises. Tears dripped down her nose as the bitterness rose on her tongue, and the spasms from her cracked stone grew more frequent.

 

She had been a good pearl. Never straying, ever faithful, despite how in quiet moments she hoped for something different, something forbidden, something more.

 

Now she was going to break into pieces.

 

A sound. Footsteps, light and quick. Someone was coming up the stairs. The screams had stopped. 

 

A pale and slight gem was leaping up the stairs, unhindered by their size. In one hand she held a glimmering spear, and in the other floated a white bubble, containing - no. It was impossible. Blue Diamond had evacuated. 

 

Impossibility, now that struck a chord - 

 

Like something from a dream, a half-forgotten memory -

 

_(never forgotten, never. But hope was something powerful and terrible and must be hidden, even within the mind)_

 

It was with a jolt she noticed the smooth unfaceted baroque on the gem’s forehead.

 

_It was her._

 

She gave one last effort and pushed herself upright for a better look. 

 

At the same time, the rebel turned to peer into the alcove.

 

“Steven! Come quickly!” She called, eyes wide in alarm.

 

Worried. For a pearl. A smile twitched onto her face before her strength finally left her. She slumped sideways onto the hard floor.

 

Through her fringe she saw the gem, the _pearl_ , reaching, concern drawing lines on her face. 

 

A legend…

 

A Renegade.


	2. Third Time Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl makes her case to her fellow rebels, and Blue Diamond's pearl reveals an interesting ability.

“Pearl? What’s wrong?” A voice called.

 

“Steven! Her gem is cracked, you need to heal it quickly.” The Renegade Pearl grasped a glitching pair of shoulders and tilted her upright. 

 

In her limited field of vision, she saw a small pinkish figure move closer, and then, come to a stop.

 

“Pearl, she’s a Homeworld Gem…should we really be helping her?”

 

“What? No she’s not.”

 

“I know who her Diamond was, Pearl. We should just bubble her with the rest of them.”

 

“Steven, this is not a request.” The Renegade said sharply.

 

She gasped at the audacity the pearl displayed, the strength inherent in her voice. The use of her lungs sent a fresh wave of seizures through her form.

 

The pink one approached, and knelt down aside her. A reluctant pity crossed the human’s face. It knelt, disappeared from sight, and she felt a wet, warm hand cover her gem. 

 

“She’s going to be weak for a while, I’ll carry her to the ship.” The human said. She found herself hoisted into a pair of strong arms, legs dangling and her head lolling to one side limply. She struggled in vain to turn her eyes away from the ground, but her form really was weak. 

 

They made their way to the docking bay of Blue Diamond’s temple. The way was near written in her stone. Remote from Homeworld, the era 2 temple had been built with seclusion in mind, but that distance had required a state of the art space port. 

 

It certainly didn’t seem that way now. From her limited field of vision, she could see the once polished floors strewn with rubble, and the noise of the machinery and the cargo ships was absent. Abruptly, two dark pink feet appeared to the side.

 

“There’s going to be an argument. Stick to your guns, Pearl.” A soft voice murmured. The feet walked away.

 

“Steven! Pearl! Look at all this sick tech!” A nasally voice cried. “How much do you think we can fit it the - wait, who is that?”

 

She felt the human come to a halt as he looked towards the voice, and his pulse slowed in her ear.

 

“A pearl,” said the Renegade. “She’s coming with us.”

 

“What? You can’t be serious.”

 

“I am completely serious Lapis.”

 

“She’s not staying at our barn.” A rustle of fabric.

 

She strained her head to look at the source of noise. The human must have felt her movement. With surprising gentleness, it lowered its arm slowly so her feet would brush the floor.

 

She stood up. Immediately it was clear that even though her gem had been healed, her form had not. Her legs tried to buckle beneath her, but she had stood through worse. The human placed an arm around her middle and she leaned gratefully upon it. Now upright, she could focus her attention elsewhere. 

 

Amongst the wreckage of the spaceport, a single bright green Roaming Eye was the only functional ship that remained. Clustered around it were a motley assortment of gems. 

 

Closest to her was a Peridot, strangely stunted, but given height by a metal disc she floated upon. Beneath her was a pile of scraps of metal and rubbish. She looked at her with a cold and wary curiosity. 

 

Perched upon the roof of the Roaming Eye, a Lapis sat cross legged, glaring down. Her gemstone must be on her back, so whether she was lazuli, armenus, or lace; it was impossible to tell.

 

In the door of the ship, a purple gem hovered uneasily, an armful of refuse clutched behind her. She seemed quartz-like, but small, small as the Peridot. She knew the cut, but surely, that was impossible for an off colour of that batch to have survived this long.

 

Another figure stood at some distance, staring up at the murals of conquest and exploration that adorned the walls, shrouded in dark hair, a pink sword sheathed at their back.

 

The Renegade stood to her right, a determined set to her back, wiry muscles tensed. She felt the same awe from earlier ripple through her.

 

The purple-pink feet from earlier were nowhere to be seen.

 

“I’m serious. She isn’t living with us.” The Lapis folded her arms and turned her back upon the group. With a jolt, pearl saw the teardrop gem in her back. A pure Era One Lapis Lazuli, without a single fleck of gold imperfection. She attempted to bow, but the arm around her waist turned it into an abortive nod.  _ The  _ missing Lapis, Blue Diamond’s crown jewel. It was no wonder this motley crew did so well when royalty walked among them. 

 

“That’s fine. She can stay at the temple.”

 

“And let a Homeworld gem into our base?” The Purple gem spoke up. The Renegade shot a glare at her.

 

“What? It’s a good point.”

 

The Renegade pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“I vouch for her, obviously.”

 

The Off-Colour Amethyst nodded approvingly at this, and turned back to her business, the matter settled in her eyes.

 

The sword wielding figure had walked over. A slender, dark face, crumpled into a frown. It eyed the growing conflict.

 

“You know that’s not enough.” The human who held her up spoke. The gazes of the gems eyed him for a moment, then flicked away. Only the skinny human could hold his gaze.

 

“This is ridiculous! She’s harmless!” The rebel pearl said exasperatedly.

 

“We can’t keep underestimating Homeworld-aligned gems,” said the Peridot. “We might have to accept that not every gem is like me - or Lapis.”

 

“No.” The other human spoke up. “You aren’t the only ones. Remember Topaz? Amethyst’s sisters? The other Sapphire, the Rutiles, and Rhodonite, and Fluorite? They were nice despite their situations. But anyway, what happened to second chances? What happened to letting Homeworld gems discover what earth was like?” The Renegade shot the slender human a grateful look. The Peridot fidgeted on her metal disc.

 

“You know what happened.” The human clutched its stomach. 

 

“But Steven -”

 

“But what, Connie?” 

 

A charged look was shared between them, and the gems looked away, as if ashamed.

 

“Garnet?” The Renegade turned around with an imploring look upon her face. 

 

Behind the group stood a tall, multi-hued gem, her back to them and her fists clenched. It was the gem whom had approached them earlier. She could not see a gemstone, but she knew. No gem existed like this on homeworld. 

 

Tension rolled through the back of the fusion as she looked up at the temple entrance, and the glowing pile of bubbled gems.

 

“She comes with us. Unbubbled.”

 

Not a single member of the group dared argue with the fused one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happened in this chapter, but not enough apparently.
> 
> Wow Steven, what happened to you? *clutches stomach*. 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter sets the timeline for the events. It's canon compliant right up to and including Lars' Head. Some time has passed since it, and I suppose you could say this episode is set at least in the middle of Season 5. Some stuff, to put it politely, has happened since then. 
> 
> This had some Lapis headcanons/theorising, those are all real gem names by the way.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
